


Be it for Reason, Be it for Love

by ShinySurfinRaichu



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Friendship, Ikrie's super gay and not good at hiding it, Love Confessions, One-sided pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-18 00:32:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13670544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinySurfinRaichu/pseuds/ShinySurfinRaichu
Summary: Aloy starts to get bored of doing the same old challenges every time she visits Ikrie, so she suggests something new.aka, Ikrie is hopelessly pining over her new best friend, and is too gay to function.





	1. Take Me Someplace

**Author's Note:**

> this started as a simple prompt, and was going into my drabble collection, but I got carried away and now it's gonna be it's own three chapter fic

Pff! 

Arrows burrowed into snow, here and there, missing their targets by mere inches. The startled Grazer's were darting this way and that with little pattern. The next arrow made it's mark, tearing away protective covering. Metal shards and sparks were sent cascading to the ground.

Ikrie's hand itched to launch another ice bomb, but she couldn't, not yet. She only had so many and if they wanted to complete this challenge, then every single one of them needed to count. There was no way in hell that Ikrie was going to be the one to slip up, and let Aloy hold that over her head for ages.

Instead she stuffed the bomb away once more and began to move, low and quick. A dive roll behind some large rocks, swift steps through the tall grasses. Within a minute Ikrie had managed to circle around and get a much better angle on two of the Grazers. 

The machines had paused, losing Aloy momentarily as she darted between vantage points. Bellowing cries rang out and the two of them twisted around as they attempted to keep up with the quick-moving shape.

While their backs were still turned, Ikrie lobbed one of her bombs forcefully. Her voice rose out in a whooping cry, a way to alert Aloy and give her an extra second to focus and take advantage of the trick.

They had worked together like this countless times now. As soon as the frost burst and covered the machines, two arrows sunk perfectly into their exposed weak spots. The first one staggered and fell, while the second collapsed into pieces upon impact.

The rest of the challenge flew by much the same, and the two of them finished it in record time. Ikrie couldn't help her breathless laughter, never could when they finished the hunt. Her companion looked over with an amused expression.

"What?" Ikrie asked.

"Nothing." Aloy shook her head, still smiling, "Just surprised you still get so giddy when we finish up."

"Are you saying you don't?" Ikrie replied with mock skepticism.

She didn't expect a serious answer, they had this back-and-forth almost every time now. Ikrie would always laugh, and Aloy would always pretend not to understand. The tiny part of Ikrie, the one that she tried not to think about too much, even thought that there was affection written on Aloy's face whenever it happened.

"Hmm, it's always fun to fight alongside you." Aloy mused, breaking script.

Ikrie glanced over and raised an eyebrow, "I can feel a 'but' coming on."

"But, it doesn't hurt to mix things up every once in awhile. We'll get rusty if we fight the same fight over and over."

She tipped her head to the side in thought, Aloy did have a point. Ever since she'd become a Snow-ghost, Ikrie hadn't left the hunting grounds much. Just ran the trials held there, and came up with her own. Maybe it was time to go out on her own again, but somehow she didn't think that was what Aloy had in mind. 

Before she could think to answer, Aloy moved away and Ikrie began to follow. She meant to continue the conversation, she really did, but as fate had it, Ikrie had been easily distracted lately.

Well, if she was being honest with herself, she was only distracted at certain times. Those times happened to be whenever a certain red-haired huntress was around her. Or more specifically, when said huntress was around and they weren't out competing with each other.

It was significantly easier to ignore this growing problem when they were hunting or fighting. When things slowed down, the feeling made itself known, like it was doing now. They were back at the hunting grounds, winding down.

Aloy was setting her bow down and the rest of her gear, settling in by the nearby fire. All that Ikrie could focus on was the way her hair fell around her shoulders, the way her armor would move and give glimpses of muscle underneath. 

As Aloy straightened up, Ikrie shook her head roughly. She moved to the fire and began to set her own gear down. Risking a glance upwards, she made eye contact with the other woman and quickly looked away again. Hopefully the fire would hide how her face was now flushed.

"So, ehm", Ikrie had to clear her throat, "Did you have something else in mind? Other than the normal trials?"

"A couple things." Aloy said with a shrug.

It was unbearable cute, this quirk of Aloy's. She did it more often than she thought; a slight roll of the shoulders, her head tilted, eyes shut and one side of her mouth lifted in a half-smile. Ikrie was in far deeper than she wanted to admit, and she still couldn't look Aloy in the face.

"Yeah?" She prompted.

"Depends on what you're up for, I guess. There's a Thunderjaw down southeast of here, holed up in a valley. It would certainly be a challenge, but a bit of a journey to get there." Aloy said.

"What's your other idea?" Ikrie pulled a face at the prospect of travelling that far.

Aloy gave a huff of amusement, "You won't like the other idea much either, you've already turned me down once."

At this Ikrie finally looked at her again, head tilting. Wracking her mind, she tried to remember their conversations the last few times Aloy had visited. Nothing in specific came to mind, so Ikrie settled for staring blankly in response. Aloy seemed to find this amusing. Ikrie had to fight off a blush once more.

"We do a challenge against each other, you know, like a race or something." She elaborated.

At this, Ikrie lit up again. Sure, it was true that she was better at working as a pair and she had turned Aloy down before because of that (now that she remembered), but things were different now. For one, spending months away from Mailen with only occasionally company from others had helped teach her to fight independently. And even if she would prefer to fight alongside Aloy, Ikrie was far too competitive to say no now that they were closer.

"So, what would we be racing to do?" She asked.

Aloy looked pleasantly surprised by this, "I hadn't thought that far, didn't think you'd say yes."

"We could hunt something other than machines for once." Ikrie suggested, "and then we'd have dinner too!"

Aloy agreed to that with a satisfied nod, and the two settled to rest for a few hours. They had stirred up enough trouble in the area with their earlier challenge anyway, best to let the prey calm down and wander back. It wouldn't be fun to lug their spoils all the way back here if they left now.

It was approaching dusk before the two of them got up again. Or at least, until Ikrie got up again. She had assembled her pack and furs into a makeshift pillow and snoozed lightly for hours now. At some point, Aloy had gotten up to go and fashion some more arrows. She was just returning when Ikrie opened her eyes and gave a hearty stretch.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Aloy prodded her gently with the toe of her boot.

"I wasn't out that long." Ikrie scrunched her face up in mock annoyance.

"Long enough for me to hit the closest village and come back."

"Boarshit!" 

Aloy laughed and shook her head, "Not that you would know."

They both continued this playfully banter as they gathered up their gear and prepared for this new challenge. While Aloy's back was turned, Ikrie glanced over warmly. It felt nice to share adventures like this with someone. She missed that.

A bittersweet pang strangled her heart and Ikrie had to look away. Swallowing a sigh, she focused on checking the ammo bags strapped to her. No, she wasn't going to mope right now. Ikrie was going to enjoy this time while it lasted, and keep on smiling until Aloy left again. She had to.


	2. Something Good Comes With The Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i started mulling a few of my plot points over more, aaand if i wanna get to the love confession the way i have planned, this might end up being four chapters instead :'D

Just a little bit closer, a few more steps. Ikrie had her sights set on a relatively good-sized boar. She had been tracking it for about half an hour, and in sight of it for the past ten minutes. Being a hunter meant being patient by default, but she could only last so long.

That was something Aloy would a slight upper hand in. Slight only because Aloy was one of the few people who rivaled Ikrie in their itch to be doing something. In the end, though, the huntress had shown that she could wait as long as it took to finish something. Ikrie was convinced it was related to that mule-like stubbornness, not that she'd say so out loud.

By now the last rays of sunlight were gone, and the hunters were operating on the diminishing sunset to guide their paths. If Ikrie wanted a clear shot, her best chance was to do so soon. Nervous energy made her fingers twitch. Would it be safer to wait until a perfect shot made itself apparent, or to hurry before the darkness of night settled in fully?

There wasn't time to doubt herself, or to debate. Ikrie really, really didn't want to lose to Aloy, but it would be a close finish no matter who won. She crept forward slowly, stopping whenever her quarry stopped, to mask her steps a little more.

The boar twitched it's ears and huffed. A distant, quiet huff came in response to it. To Ikrie's dismay, the beast picked up it's pace and began to trot in the direction of it's friend. She pulled her spear out, and made to lunge at the boar as it turned.

A startled cry rang through the air and Ikrie froze in place; that was Aloy's voice. Spinning around in a panic, her prey forgotten, she tried to figure where it came from. It was almost dark now, and there was nothing notable within eyesight.

Ikrie dashed to the nearest sturdy tree and hauled herself onto the first branch. It wasn't enough of a vantage point, so she inched along the branch. It took standing on the tips of her toes to reach the next one. After another couple of tries she was finally high enough to figure out what was going on.

The bright flashes of machine eyes revealed an unwanted sight. A Frostclaw, huge and furious. Undoubtedly, at the hunters who had wandered into it's territory unwittingly. To make matters worse, two Scorcher's heard the commotion and were making their way over to join the search.

The darkness hid the finer details of what was going on, and that only heightened the nerves that already buzzed inside Ikrie. Where was Aloy? She tried not to assume the worst, that the original cry wasn't just from surprise, it wouldn't help right now. 

She decided to take a risk, and whistled as loud as she could, but not for long. Alerting the machines to her exact position would be bad, but she had to know where Aloy was. If she was still...no, she had to be alive. 

There was no reply, save for the searching noises of Watchers and Scorchers, for the longest time. And then, an answering whistle just as loud and for a few seconds longer. Ikrie turned towards the sound. Her eyes scanned the area as best she could, but there wasn't much to be revealed in the lingering darkness.

There! A flash of light purple that was gone so fast Ikrie almost wondered if it was just her imagination. It wasn't, though, she had been around Aloy enough to recognize the ripple of her Shield-weaver armor. Roughly forty feet away, concealed from view by an over-hanging rock. 

Relief flooded through her, they weren't out of the woods yet, but at least Aloy appeared to be alright. Her heart jumped into her throat as one of the Scorchers passed maddeningly close to Aloy's hiding place. Forcing herself to take a deep, calming breath, Ikrie descended from the the tree as quietly as she could.

A nearby Watcher turned it's head quickly as she thumped into the tall grasses below, but it was soon distracted by others noises. Ikrie crept up behind it, knuckles white as she gripped her hunting knife. It wasn't her ideal machine-hunting weapon, but it sliced into the Watcher's vital parts easily enough. 

With one less machine to worry about, Ikrie quickly replaced the knife. She crawled across the freezing ground, eyes rarely leaving the Frostclaw. It was the biggest of their worries, and certainly the thing that must be the last to notice them. They needed all the time they could possibly get to prepare for taking it down.

Unless...she risked a sweeping glance in the opposite direction. Damn, if only she had thought to look for a safe escape route while up in the tree. She cursed under her breath and continued on. If they were lucky, perhaps Aloy had an idea for how to get out of here in one piece.

For someone who wasn't as well-versed in moving through the frozen landscape as a Banuk hunter, Aloy sure was hard to find. Ikrie had made her way over to where she'd initially seen the armor shine, but the huntress was nowhere to be found. The last thing they needed was a game of hide-and-seek while deadly machines prowled around them.

Her mind raced to figure out how to locate Aloy now. Whistling again was probably a bad idea, the machines were far too close to risk something like that. Suddenly, an idea came to her. It was a long shot, but at this point Ikrie had little else to try. 

Cupping her hands around her mouth, she did her best to mimic the huffing noise the boars had made earlier. Aloy was a hunter, and hopefully that meant she would recognize the sound. There was no answering 'huff', and the fears from earlier began worming their way back to the front of her mind.

"You'd make a lousy boar." A voice whispered, just barely audible, but unmistakable.

Ikrie nearly jumped out of her skin, and spun around as quickly as she dared. Aloy was pressed into a crevice of the rock, against the ground. She must be freezing, half buried in the snow, but at least it had kept the Scorcher from earlier unaware of her presence. It took quite a bit of effort not to smack Aloy for startling her like that, and for the cheeky grin still plastered on her face as she looked up at Ikrie.

"You're going to get us killed." Ikrie whispered back, brow furrowed.

The huntress' only response was an exaggerated roll of her eyes, to which Ikrie countered by sticking her tongue out. There was something about life-or-death situations together that really brought out the childishness in the two of them, as it turns out. She helped Aloy up, so that the two of them were crouched side-by-side, still exchanging looks of fake annoyance.

Most of the time, it didn't matter much, but tonight their luck had finally tapped out. The Scorcher had made another circle around the rock while they were distracted, still searching for them. Bright lights flashed from yellow to a searing red, and Ikrie felt her breath catch in her throat. Beside her, Aloy stiffened and she could practically feel the other woman's heart stop as well.

The Scorcher's face was locked directly on them, there was no hiding anymore. Before either of them could react, it took a small hop backwards, it's right front paw raised. Flames began to flicker and swirl around the limb.

Then, it lunged at them.


	3. There's A Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooo, managed to get this done in 3 chapters after all :'D

The next few heartbeats seemed to stretch by in slow motion. Ikrie could see the flames licking at the air hungrily as they grew. The Scorcher's claws were outstretched, eager to pierce through flesh or pin them to the ground with their crushing strength. 

Her body was moving before her mind even registered what it should be doing. A dim memory clouded her vision, but instinct kept Ikrie in motion. Swinging her left leg out, hitting Aloy right in the weak point of her legs, which buckled instantly.

The ringing in Ikrie's ears blocked out the startled cry, but she could see the wheels turning behind Aloy's eyes. Her hand pushed Aloy into the ground more roughly than intended, the momentum from Ikrie's own body hitting the ground lending the added force. 

Aloy fell faster, pressed into the snow safely as the machine flew over them. Ikrie wasn't so lucky, and one of the Scorcher's hind paws clipped the back of her head. It wasn't enough to cause serious damage, but pain still exploded through her thoughts. The force of it knocked Ikrie face first into the snow.

Dizziness enveloped her, kept Ikrie from pushing herself to her feet even though her brain screamed at her to move before the Scorcher attacked again. Hands pulled at her, dragging her upright and further into the tall grasses. It wouldn't hide them forever, but these plants easily towered over the two of them even when standing upright. Hopefully, that would buy them a few extra seconds.

A dull throb had started up where Ikrie had been hit, but the haze was mostly cleared from her mind. The adrenaline pumping through her veins saw to that. Aloy guided her through the foliage as quickly as they were able to, without Ikrie tripping over her unsteady feet. They were trying to make their way around the massive rock, make it harder for the machine to pick them out again.

The ground shook with what Ikrie assumed were heavy, bounding leaps. Her world swirled again as Aloy shoved her to the side quickly. The Scorcher screamed by, missing them by mere inches once again. Luck seemed to be back on their side once more, if only in its ability to keep them from being torn to shreds.

Suddenly Aloy was practically dragging her out of the grass, eyes wide with dismay and brow sharp with determination. Summoning as much energy as she could, Ikrie shook her head in an effort to clear it before picking up the pace. She didn't know what Aloy had planned, but she wasn't going to stop and ask. They scrambled across the opening ground, narrowly dodging a leaping watcher.

Aloy paused just long enough to thrust a spear into the Watcher and then shove it to the side. Meanwhile, Ikrie tried to find somewhere that would grant momentary safety. Her peripheral vision was still blurred and her head throbbed painfully. 

Behind them, the Frostclaw had joined the fight, crashing into the boulder they had been hugging barely a minute earlier. Pieces of rock flew around them, a few stinging against Ikrie's face. Well, Aloy's quick thinking made sense now, but that didn't calm the dread boiling in her stomach. 

They were in knee-high snow, which Ikrie could navigate with little difficulty, but Aloy not so much. Making a split-second decision, she began to motion frantically at the huntress. 

"Quick, you go that way!" Ikrie pointed towards the thinner patches of snow.

Aloy looked startled, and opened her mouth to protest. They didn't have time to debate, though, and she seemed to realize that as she closed it again. It didn't take long for Aloy to spin around and dash in the opposite direction. The ground began to rumble, causing Ikrie to scramble along her own path.

Snarling broke into her thoughts, seeming to sync up with the tremors already pulsing through her head. Sucking in a ragged breath, Ikrie fumbled with her ammo bag. She pulled two ice bombs out and spun around, baring her teeth in her own type of snarl at the Scorcher bearing down at her. Putting all of her force behind the throw, she threw the first bomb directly at it's face.

The Scorcher faltered with a cry of rage, but didn't stop. Aiming the second bomb at it's feet, Ikrie was already running before it hit. She didn't stick around to see her handy work, as the Scorcher stumbled to a halt and it's joint began to freeze over. It wouldn't stick for long, loud cracks tore through the air. The Scorcher was fighting furiously with itself to keep hunting it's prey.

Retreating into the trees wasn't an option, the Scorcher would only burn them down. If it didn't, the Frostclaw would have no trouble destroying them. There had to be another option, some sort of vantage point to attack from. More cries of rage sounded from far to her left. Ikrie couldn't afford to stop and look just yet, but a smile pulled at the corner of her lips.

She had hunted machines long enough to recognize the sound of one of them in its death throes. That meant Aloy had brought down one of the two Scorchers. All that remained was the Frostclaw and the other Scorcher. The odds still weren't in their favor, but they had leveled a tiny bit. They were hunters, survivors, the two of them. They could make it. They would.

Something caught her eye at last, a rocky outcrop that Ikrie could scale easily while her foes were distracted. She made it to her destination in record time, and began scrambling up the naturally occurring handholds like she was born to do that and that alone. The pain from earlier had lessened to a dull roar in the back of her mind, she had much more pressing concerns. Like the Scorcher that was charging for her sanctuary.

It dodged the first bomb she lobbed at it, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the second. Once it was successfully frozen in place again, Ikrie whipped out her sling. Throwing the bombs herself was effective, but she wasn't going to take the Scorcher down without her trusty weapon in the mix.

Ikrie was prepared to empty her ammo pouch, if that's what it took to get them out of here, but fate had other plans. The Frostclaw must've set it's sights on her, because it came crashing into her view suddenly. The massive machine was favoring one side, which sent it careening into the Scorcher and it destroyed the last of its allies in a shower of sparks.

Several arrows protruded from the side it was limping on, and Ikrie quickly glanced in the direction the Frostclaw had come from. To her relief, Aloy was already dashing after it, looking ruffled but not badly injured. The huntress hoisted herself onto a shorter ledge and drew her bow once more. Things were looking up for them once more.

The ledge shook viciously, and Ikrie was forced to drop onto her hands and knees so that she didn't go flying back into the snowy ground. Deep, red lights flashed terrifyingly close as the Frostclaw struggled to reach her. One giant paw clawed vainly at the cliff, leaving huge grooves in the rock. Ikrie felt herself shudder, it was all too easy to imagine those metal weapons slicing through flesh instead.

She struggled with her ammo pouch one-handed, the other white-knuckled as she gripped the stone beneath her. Finally, Ikrie managed to get ahold of another ice bomb and pull out her sling as well. The enraged machine made aiming precisely almost impossible, but thankfully the Frostclaw was close enough that it didn't matter. 

Between the ice now coating it's face, and the arrows pelting it from behind, the Frostclaw couldn't seem to make up a plan of attack. One of the arrows pierced the component one it's shoulder, and just like that the fight was over. The ensuing explosion was enough to throw Ikrie onto her back. The light coating of snow kept her head from cracking open, but her vision still went dark.

Suddenly Ikrie drew in a series of gasping breathes, surprised to see Aloy's concerned face in front of her. She must have lost consciousness, and had the breath knocked out of her as well. Aloy helped her into a sitting position, lips pursed with worry. On the other hand, Ikrie felt a bright grin creeping onto her face. They had done it, they were safe!

Next thing she knew, Aloy was laughing and she couldn't help but join in. They wore mirrored looks of disbelief, relief dancing in their eyes. It was harder to see now, without the machines lights to brighten the night sky. Something about that fact bolstered Ikrie's subconcious nerves. Aloy was opening her mouth to speak, but Ikrie cut her off by throwing her arms around the huntress' neck.

"You were so great! It never saw it's death coming." Ikrie gushed.

Aloy tried to pull away bashfully, "It was nothing, you did just as well." 

There was a long pause(Ikrie still refusing to let go), before Aloy leaned into the embrace hesitantly. Her voice was quiet when it cut through the air again.

"I thought I'd lose you for a second there. You need to be more careful."

"You'll never lose me, I'll always be right beside you." Ikrie pulled away and grinned.

This seemed to cause a split reaction in Aloy. At first a flash of calming relief, and then...embarrassment? The other woman had looked away quickly, with the hint of a blush dusting her cheeks. The gears in Ikrie's mind struggled to figure out what happened. Oh. Oh no.

Apparently that knock to her head, and the black out moments ago, had clouded her brains ability to control the tongue. Because Ikrie was pretty sure she had just accidently tacked on a "because I love you" to that sentence. Warmth flooded her face, and Ikrie began stammering as she tried to backtrack.

Before she could string together a coherent apology, Aloy was facing her again. She leaned in and kissed Ikrie; short, sweet and everything she had imagined in her day dreams. It was Ikrie's turn to blink in surprise, with face that could only be described as rosy. 

Aloy looked like she was starting to regret that impulsive action, but Ikrie pulled her back in for another kiss. This one was going to last longer. And so would the next one, and the next.

**Author's Note:**

> title is from the song "My Silver Lining" by First Aid Kit
> 
> any and all tips/constructive criticism is much appreciated!!!!


End file.
